Disposable cutlery and other utensils (herein collectively referred to as utensils) manufactured from wood veneer are well known, and are gaining in popularity as these utensils are viewed as environmentally friendly in both their manufacture and disposal. However, both the design of the utensil and the process by which they are manufactured have failed to evolve so as to overcome the strength deficiencies of the thin cross-section of veneer and to overcome the inefficiencies of the manufacturing process.
Veneer strips which have been stripped from a wood block are first soaked in hot water until the lignins are softened then cut or stamped into the desired shapes, that is forks, spoons, knives and the like. The cut-outs are then placed into a mold where under pressure they are formed into the shape of the desired utensil and with the application of heat the moisture is driven off so that a stable form ensues.
In the prior art, veneer utensil shapes have been cut at one location, transported or moved to a matrix at a second location, which is further moved into vertical alignment under a die where through the application of pressure and heat the utensil is formed. Such production is invariably inefficient and is severely limited in its production capacity.
For example, in the prior art applicant is aware of the German Patent No. DE 43 18 043 A1 which issued Dec. 1, 1994 to Langer et al. for A Method for Forming Flat Parts of Wood. In this application the cut cutlery blanks are formed at the perimeter of a revolving multi-stationed table. The blanks are radially translated from their initial cutting location on to a lower portion of a form positioned on the table. Incremental rotation of the table brings the lower form into vertical alignment with an upper form, which can then be pressed together with the lower. The mated forms are then rotated to a heating station and then to a dispensing station.
In general, applicant has found that prior art wooden veneer utensils such as forks suffer from breakage of the handle near its confluence or intersection with the head of the utensil. Consequently, in applicant's view the related prior art production processes are not only inefficient and fairly slow but have produced inferior product.
It is therefore one of the objects of this invention is to provide a utensil design, for example useful for forks and spoons, or combinations thereof, which will strengthen the neck between the handle and the load-engaging member or head so as to avoid breakage of the utensil at the neck, and to provide a method and process for making same.